What Makes a Soldier
by Robin and Marian 4ever
Summary: Lorne does not trust Colonel Ellis or the Apollo.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: What Makes a Soldier**  
**Rating: G**  
**Character: Lorne, Ellis**  
**Genre: General**  
**Warnings: none**  
**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Disclaimer in profile. Please R&R, I have been getting many hits on my stories but it is always nice to get reviews-I like to see what people think.**

**As of 11/5/10 this is the edited and hopefully better written version of WMaS. Edited Chp. 2 to follow. I would love feedback to see what you all think. Thank you!**

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Major Evan Lorne did not like, nor trust the Commander of the Apollo. It had been a long time since someone this arrogant had come through the SGC, let alone survived this long. McKay did not count, he was a civilian and despite how irritating he could be and that with his mistakes people were liable to die-he had earned the right to be arrogant. Colonel Ellis had not.

He could not figure out why Ellis was here and why the Apollo was given the mission and not the Daedalus. Ellis and the Apollo had no loyalty to Atlantis or her people; they were there on orders and because of that safety net, Ellis chose not to listen. Lorne knew from experience as any good SGC officer did, that you listened to the Scientists even if you did not want to. You listened to the people with experience whoever they might be. Ellis might be career Air Force and clearance to know about the Program but he was not an SGC field officer. Ellis would not survive long at the SGC, at least not on an off world team-his attitude would get him and more than likely his team killed. Lorne had seen that happen often enough to know that it was not impossible.

When Lorne reported to the Apollo to carry out Sheppard's orders, that everyone once again agreed was crazy, he wished that Caldwell and the Daedalus were there instead. He knew that crew he had trust in them. The same could not be said for the Apollo or her captain. The disdain Ellis showed for everyone in Atlantis was no more obvious than when he deliberately ignored both Weir and McKay in the city. The equivalent to that back at the SGC was dismissing Colonel Carter and Doctor Jackson and anyone who deliberately did that had a death wish and often would meet it. It wasn't done period and Lorne did not understand why Ellis thought he could get away with it.

Ellis was a stickler for regulations, it was readily apparent in the way his crew acted, and Lorne knew that if Ellis ever got any type of command in Pegasus; beyond that of Apollo that people would be in danger. Pegasus was different, it was not the Milky Way and it sure as hell was not Earth. Colonel Caldwell had long since realized that. He too was a stickler for regulations but also accepted that his way was not what was best for Atlantis, let alone all of Pegasus. Caldwell would leave the city to them, even when he thought they were mistaken because he understood that difference, and because he did not have the experience that those before him had. Ellis did not accept this unspoken r rule. He believed that everyone and everything should bend to his orders and to that of his superiors because they want them to. While it might work on Earth, it did not however work in the galaxy, in either Pegasus or the Milky Way.

Caldwell, despite how he first arrived in Atlantis and his clashes with Sheppard and Weir, was more a part of Atlantis than Ellis ever would be. Lorne respected Caldwell because he knew that Caldwell respected Sheppard- did not always like the man, but respected him and the same could be said for Doctor Weir. Caldwell and by extension the Daedalus and her crew, in turn had been accepted as being part of the city. They would protect her and her inhabitants, already had and with consequences to themselves but without questioning whether or not the need to help.

For that fact alone, he wished that the Daedalus were there. That in the after math of the disaster , the loss of Doctor Weir, that Caldwell and his crew were there to protect the city and her inhabitants, because in their grief and pain and exhaustion they could not rely on just themselves. However, they had to because they would not rely on the Apollo and her Captain. On people who did not care about them or how deeply painful their loss was, only the fact that their plan failed, which in Ellis's mind was because Weir had no right to sacrifice herself to save the expedition, that she was in fact a danger to them because of it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **  
**Rating: **  
**Character: **  
**Genre: **  
**Warnings: **  
**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Author's note: Okay people. Here is a continuation kind of- that takes place after Ellis goes off on Rodney and Sam tells him to never do something like that again in Be All My Sins Remembered.

And please review-I have gotten near 200 hits for almost all my stories but only like 5 reviews. I really appreciate knowing if people like what I write or other things.

* * *

After the meeting and the confrontation with Ellis, Colonel Carter takes a break. She has earned one. As she reaches her quarters after making a stop in the mess for a power bar (the one thing that makes her more like McKay, she thinks, but one she still vehemently denies) she realizes she is exhausted. She knew that taking this command would be a trial, but that ultimately it would make her a better person.

She appreciated the advice that she was given from people who had worked in or around Atlantis, especially with their flagship team. She appreciated the advice that Jack gave her knowing that it was more accurate and heartfelt, than that of Woolsey. She even appreciated the advice from Caldwell, who only wants the best for the city and gets that, no matter what he had wanted before, that it would not be him. 

As she sits and looks at pictures of her team, her family she abruptly misses their warmth. She cannot believe the audacity of Ellis. That he believed he could get away with what he did, with what he said without reprimand. Sam knows McKay, has more than once wished she could do what Ellis did, and has on occasion. But that's the thing she knows McKay, can say that they are friends of a sort and that their relationship has always been antagonistic. She knows Sheppard, more from when the whole Atlantis mission was recalled than from him on Atlantis, but she knows him.

Ellis does not know these people. He does not try to, he is arrogant in a way that McKay never is and even was (and God knows if McKay had not changed he would have been killed by now). He is also part of the Air Force she abhors-not just because he seems to have trouble with women in command, but because of the fact that seems to have trouble over the fact that _civilians_ hold command posts. As she reflects on the meeting she realizes that Ellis will never be accepted in Atlantis, and that while the Apollo's help is appreciated there is nothing else there for the inhabitants of the city.

* * *

John makes his way to the labs. He knows that McKay will be in an even worse mood, because of the meeting. He did not appreciate what Ellis said and knows that, if Carter had not said something he would have, and that would have been worse than anything else he could have done. There are few people who have the right to put McKay in his place. 

Elizabeth, he ignores the pang to his heart at her name, is chief among them. Colonel Carter, because Sheppard is not stupid, has asked about their past, and knows that because of that, she has more right than some, as do the other members of SG-1. Then, Ronon, Teyla and himself, Rodney is their friend and it is their job to make sure they keep him grounded. 

Colonel Ellis is not one of them and John wants to make sure that Rodney is okay. He knows Rodney, knows that what was said hurt him, more so because it was in front of friends and that no matter what he says, that he is not okay.

* * *

As Stephen Caldwell, makes his way through the city of the Ancients, he finds himself thinking. He cannot believe what Colonel Ellis said to McKay, that someone could actually be that stupid to confront the man that has saved their lives more times than anyone can count. He finds that since the Apollo was given orders to come to Pegasus, that he feels threatened. He thinks that is role as protector of the city is going to be handed over to the Apollo and for awhile there, that might have been true. He surprises himself by how much the very thought hurts him. He knows that he has become more attached to this city and its people than he ever thought he could be, especially considering the reason he first came. 

He finds himself competing with Ellis, likes to be able to give orders because he has the experience, and more glad than he should be that the Daedalus has destroyed more Wraith Hives, than the Apollo. But as he walks through the halls, he reflects on his changing thoughts toward the command team of this city. He does not have a problem with Colonel Carter in command; he has always thought there should be a better military presence in the city. He wishes it has not come at the price of the lost of Elizabeth Weir, knows that that lost damages the city in ways no one can understand save those who were around the SGC when Daniel Jackson died. He has come to believe though that Sheppard belongs in Atlantis, has earned his position along with the rest of his team. That thought more than anything else, shows Stephen he has changed.

As he comes across Ellis speaking to Sheppard hours later, he acknowledges that without a doubt he is part of this city, he will fight for his post, because Ellis is to Air Force and will not be able to bend to Pegasus ideals-and Caldwell knows that, for that reason alone the Apollo will not be stationed here-because that can get them killed. Plus, he realizes that the others have changed to, that when he interrupts the meeting and Ellis leaves, Sheppard's relieved breath is actually what it sounds like-neither knows who is more surprised.

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